Guns and Bikes

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ah, you referred to yourself as young and not qualifying which i why i assumed.
You dont want to put your name on a list okay, but you cant carry an accessible handgun while riding without a CHL. A taser would circumvent that if you need to carry something. but situational awareness like witchdoc was mentioning is what you need the most. have a gun, or a taser or a rpg and let someone sneak up on your and its all for not. know what i mean?

not true. castle doctrine does not state that you cannot have it accessible....you can have it next to you if you'd like.

H.B. 1815 makes it perfectly legal to carry a gun on your person while operating a motor vehicle. Now you may spend a night in jail if caught for the simple reason all too often LEOs do not know the wording of the laws in question. But the law will easily get your case dismissed.

(a) A person commits an offense if the person [he]
intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or
her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not:
(1) on the person's own premises or premises under the
person's control; or
(2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle
that is owned by the person or under the person's control.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person
intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or
her person a handgun in a motor vehicle that is owned by the person
or under the person's control at any time in which:
(1) the handgun is in plain view; or
(2) the person is:
(A) engaged in criminal activity, other than a
Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance
regulating traffic;
(B) prohibited by law from possessing a firearm;
or
(C) a member of a criminal street gang, as
defined by Section 71.01.

H.B. 1815 makes it perfectly legal to carry a gun on your person while operating a motor vehicle. Now you may spend a night in jail if caught for the simple reason all too often LEOs do not know the wording of the laws in question. But the law will easily get your case dismissed.

(a) A person commits an offense if the person [he]
intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or
her person a handgun, illegal knife, or club if the person is not:
(1) on the person's own premises or premises under the
person's control; or
(2) inside of or directly en route to a motor vehicle
that is owned by the person or under the person's control.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person
intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or
her person a handgun in a motor vehicle that is owned by the person
or under the person's control at any time in which:
(1) the handgun is in plain view; or
(2) the person is:
(A) engaged in criminal activity, other than a
Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance
regulating traffic;
(B) prohibited by law from possessing a firearm;
or
(C) a member of a criminal street gang, as
defined by Section 71.01.

I'm not gonna speak for him but Wackjum (our resident lawyer) said, I believe, that the law on this has not been tested.
In other words, there has not been a case heard on this topic, yet.
His interpretation was that you can NOT legally carry on a bike like you can in a car. The courts, as I recall, have said that there is nowhere on a bike that's not "on or about your person" even under the seat that you are sitting on.
I will try to find the thread...

__________________ Asphalt is for racing... dirt is for growing potatoes. - J. Diester
When seconds count... the police are only minutes away.
Grow up and be a productive member of society already.
Bevo- "I lack skillz"

Texas Penal Code Sec. 46.02. UNLAWFUL CARRYING WEAPONS.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun if the person is not inside of a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control.

The plain language of the statute requires the person be "inside of a motor vehicle" the vehicle. They didn't use the more common phrasing "operating a motor vehicle." Therefore the plain reading of the statute is that you have to be inside of a car or truck as you can't be inside of a motorcycle.

However, it is not a crime to just have a handgun in a car or motorcycle. The question has always been about accessibility. That's why the section of the code is entitled unlawful carrying.

Another way to look at is that the law makes it illegal to carry a handgun on your body, and then carves out some exceptions. One exception is inside your car. The other exception is having a CHL. Since you cannot be inside your motorcycle, the exception does not apply and we have to look at whether you are carrying on or about your person.

The Courts have defined carrying on or about his or her person as a question of accessibility. And specifically pertaining to motorcycles:

Quote:
Appellant concedes in his brief that “on or about” one's person means “nearby, close at hand” or within such distance that the party can reach it without materially changing his position. Wagner v. State, 80 Tex.Crim. 66, 188 S.W.2d 1001, 1002 (1916). We believe, as a matter of common knowledge, that any compartment on a motorcycle fits within that definition. Indeed, it would appear that it could well be much closer in proximity than some parts of the interior of a car which has been previously held to be “on or about” a person. Christian v. State, 686 S.W.2d 930, 933 (Tex.Crim.App.1985) citing Courtney v. State, 424 S.W.2d 440 (Tex.Crim.App.1968). Whether we accept, as appellant insists, as fact the handgun was found in the locked compartment under the seat of the driver or that it was found in “some compartment on the motorcycle” is merely a distinction without a difference. What is important is that the compartment was in close proximity and within appellant's reach. - Burks v. State, 693 S.W.2d 747 (Tex.App. 14 Dist., 1985).

The law that allows carrying in a car came out in 2007. It is still too early for the Courts to start deciding how to apply it. Therefore I don't have any definitive precedent to tell you. But my reading of the statute and case law says it is per se illegal and we'd have to argue that it wasn't.

And one more thing... There is no such thing as castle doctrine in the law. Castle doctrine is a philosophy that underpins legislation. It typically means three things: 1) Establishing the right to use of deadly force; 2) Immunity from civil lawsuit for use of force; 3) No duty to retreat.

Castle doctrine as a philosophy does not speak to where you can carry your gun, how to carry it, and whether it needs to be stored loaded or unloaded (all common things I see attributed to castle doctrine). Because these issues are ancillary to the central ability to use force, they are typically addressed by statute in States that follow the castle doctrine thinking, but it is not universal and isn't castle doctrine itself.
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__________________ Asphalt is for racing... dirt is for growing potatoes. - J. Diester
When seconds count... the police are only minutes away.
Grow up and be a productive member of society already.
Bevo- "I lack skillz"

__________________ Asphalt is for racing... dirt is for growing potatoes. - J. Diester
When seconds count... the police are only minutes away.
Grow up and be a productive member of society already.
Bevo- "I lack skillz"